Return to work after parental leave
March 25, 2010 | 30,00 EUR | answered by Bernhard Müller
Dear Sir or Madam,
On 25.01.2009 our child was born. The parental leave was supposed to last from 25.01.2009 until 31.03.2010. I had planned to return to work on 01.04.2010. Due to a delay in the construction of the daycare center, I can only start my work on 01.06.2010 and therefore need to extend the parental leave by 2 months. However, my employer (a dentist with less than 15 employees) wants to save money for a few more months and only employ me from 01.08.2010.
1. Is the employer allowed to dictate how long the parental leave lasts?
Before the birth of my daughter, I was working full-time. Now I want to work part-time for 25-30 hours per week. My employer is only offering me 20 hours or 40 hours.
2. Can my employer dictate the number of hours?
The opening hours of my employer are sometimes until 8:00 pm. However, the daycare center is only open until 5:30 pm and is about 40 minutes away from my workplace. My employer demands that I work until 6:00 pm and even until 8:00 pm.
3. Is the employer allowed to require me to work until 8:00 pm? (My partner works in a 3-shift system)
Sincerely,
MG
Dear inquirer,
According to § 16 (3) BEEG, parental leave can be ended prematurely or extended within the framework of § 15 para. 2 if the employer agrees.
According to § 15 (5) BEEG, the employer and the employee must reach an agreement on a request to reduce working hours within four weeks.
An entitlement exists only if the employer usually employs more than 15 employees according to § 15 para. 7.
After parental leave, you only have a right to full-time employment from 01.04.
Since you were employed full-time before the parental leave, which should last until 31.03, and your employer employs fewer than 15 employees. Since there is no entitlement to an extension, if the employer does not agree to the extension until 01.06, you only have the option to either resume work on 01.04 or agree to the extension until 01.08.
Whether the employer can demand that you work until 8 p.m. depends on whether he could do so before the start of parental leave. If he could do so before, he can also do so after parental leave. If your employment contract had a clause stating that he could not do so before, then he is not allowed to do so afterwards either. Because you have the right to be employed under the same conditions as before parental leave.
You do not have a right to reduce working hours according to § 15 para. 7 BEEG, as your employer employs fewer than 15 employees. Therefore, your employer can indeed decide to continue full-time employment or reduce it to 20 hours.
I hope that my answer was helpful to you.
Best regards,
Bernhard Müller Attorney
